Run נפתלי run! He is compared to a deer who can run fast. These shoes are shoes that represent his running naturally like a deer - all toes exposed.
נפתלי is the second son of רחל's maidservant בלהה. His older brother is דן.
Name:
רחל suggested to יעקב to marry her maidservant בלהה because she was at the time was unsuccessful in having children,so she would be able to at least have children through her maidservant that she would be able to raise as her own. A second reason why she did this was what she tells יעקב in פרק ל פסוק ג: that "ואבנה גם אנכי ממנה" which can be understood as, " in the merit of allowing someone else to be with you, ה should have mercy on me and also build me up" aka allow me to bear children.
The תורה tells us that רחל named this son נפתלי because "נפתולי אלקים נפתלתי עם אחותי גם יכולתי"(see בראשית ל:ח).There are multiple interpretations of this expression found in the ראשונים and commentaries:
1. רשי quotes the explanation of מנחם בן סרוק who explains the word נפתלי from the word "פתיל" which means "to connect". Accordingly רחל was stating that "Through connection from G-d, I have been connected to my sister (לאה) in the fact that I now have merited to have multiple children just like her.(see בראשית ל:ח רשי ד"ה נפתולי אלקים).
2. רשי posits a second opinion that the name comes from the word "פתלתול" ' which means "crooked or twisted." Accordingly רחל was saying, "I have pleaded in many different ways, crooked and twisted ways to ה that I should be equal to my sister(who has many children) and I have succeeded." (see ibid)
3. According to the תרגום אונקלוס also quoted by רשי the name comes from the word "תפלה." or "prayer." Accordingly רחל was saying, " The prayers that I have davvened to ה have been answered just like my sister's(prayers). (see ibid)
4. The אבן עזרא understands the name to come from the word "להפיל" which means literally "to cause someone to fall" and in this context refers to a "struggle" (when you struggle with someone you want to stay on top and the other person to fall.) Accordingly רחל was saying that "ה has helped me with my struggle against my sister, and has helped me to succeed(by having children just like her)" (בראשית ל:ח אבן עזרא ד"ה נפתלי)
Life:
The only stories we are told about נפתלי in the text of the תורה, are the generic ones involving all the brothers. He was most probably involved in the sale of יוסף, (although there is room to argue that he was not,) he was in the group of brothers who went down to מצרים to get food during the famine, and he was also involved in the burial of יעקב. It is about this final story that we hear more about the uniqueness of נפתלי from a story cited in מסכת סוטה דף יג עמוד א. The גמרא states that when the brothers went to bury יעקב in ארץ ישראל, they went to מערת המכפלה and were confronted by none other than עשו who would not allow them to bury יעקב. He claimed that ארץ ישראל was his, since יעקב and his family had been away in מצרים for almost 20 years. The brothers had left the title deed, or the deed of sale, that יעקב had inherited from יצחק (who got it from יעקב) proving that ownership was passed down to יעקב and not עשו. They sent נפתלי because he was the fastest of all the tribes, and like a deer ran back to מצרים to bring the document. The Rabbi's get this idea from the ברכה that יעקב gives to נפתלי in פרשת ויחי where he says "נפתלי אילה שלחה הנתן אמרי שפר" which is translated by the תרגום יונתן בן עוזיאל - "Naphtali is a messenger compared to a deer(a hart) who runs on the tops of mountains...." (see בראשית מט: כא and the תרגום יונתן there.)
I liked this project. I think the wiki, was a good way for all to collect information and then to collaborate in one place. The wiki, is a great tool to have separate work spaces ( as each tribe has its own page,) but be collaborative and in one place at the same time. A Google document is also good for collaboration, but all of the information has to be on the same page, which I think for a project such as this, is less effective. I think the teacher chose an excellent tool for this project.
There were problems that were encountered however. First, we have learned that like Google docs, the wiki's are as of now not very i-pad user friendly. I composed my page (this page and the home page) on my laptop computer. Until the iPad can accommodate the wiki better, I would probably not assign another project to be worked on in class on the i-pad using the wiki.
I also think that the students did not do as good of a job as they could have done. This could be because they are lazy, or this type of presentation method is new to them, so it was unclear to them that they should not just copy and paste the guiding rubric onto their specific page, fill out the "answers" and not edit it. I hope in the future, the students can get used to such a presentation format, for I see wiki spaces being used more and more in educational contexts.
Family:
נפתלי is the second son of רחל's maidservant בלהה. His older brother is דן.
Name:
רחל suggested to יעקב to marry her maidservant בלהה because she was at the time was unsuccessful in having children,so she would be able to at least have children through her maidservant that she would be able to raise as her own. A second reason why she did this was what she tells יעקב in פרק ל פסוק ג: that "ואבנה גם אנכי ממנה" which can be understood as, " in the merit of allowing someone else to be with you, ה should have mercy on me and also build me up" aka allow me to bear children.
The תורה tells us that רחל named this son נפתלי because "נפתולי אלקים נפתלתי עם אחותי גם יכולתי"(see בראשית ל:ח).There are multiple interpretations of this expression found in the ראשונים and commentaries:
1. רשי quotes the explanation of מנחם בן סרוק who explains the word נפתלי from the word "פתיל" which means "to connect". Accordingly רחל was stating that "Through connection from G-d, I have been connected to my sister (לאה) in the fact that I now have merited to have multiple children just like her.(see בראשית ל:ח רשי ד"ה נפתולי אלקים).
2. רשי posits a second opinion that the name comes from the word "פתלתול" ' which means "crooked or twisted." Accordingly רחל was saying, "I have pleaded in many different ways, crooked and twisted ways to ה that I should be equal to my sister(who has many children) and I have succeeded." (see ibid)
3. According to the תרגום אונקלוס also quoted by רשי the name comes from the word "תפלה." or "prayer." Accordingly רחל was saying, " The prayers that I have davvened to ה have been answered just like my sister's(prayers). (see ibid)
4. The אבן עזרא understands the name to come from the word "להפיל" which means literally "to cause someone to fall" and in this context refers to a "struggle" (when you struggle with someone you want to stay on top and the other person to fall.) Accordingly רחל was saying that "ה has helped me with my struggle against my sister, and has helped me to succeed(by having children just like her)" (בראשית ל:ח אבן עזרא ד"ה נפתלי)
Life:
The only stories we are told about נפתלי in the text of the תורה, are the generic ones involving all the brothers. He was most probably involved in the sale of יוסף, (although there is room to argue that he was not,) he was in the group of brothers who went down to מצרים to get food during the famine, and he was also involved in the burial of יעקב. It is about this final story that we hear more about the uniqueness of נפתלי from a story cited in מסכת סוטה דף יג עמוד א. The גמרא states that when the brothers went to bury יעקב in ארץ ישראל, they went to מערת המכפלה and were confronted by none other than עשו who would not allow them to bury יעקב. He claimed that ארץ ישראל was his, since יעקב and his family had been away in מצרים for almost 20 years. The brothers had left the title deed, or the deed of sale, that יעקב had inherited from יצחק (who got it from יעקב) proving that ownership was passed down to יעקב and not עשו. They sent נפתלי because he was the fastest of all the tribes, and like a deer ran back to מצרים to bring the document. The Rabbi's get this idea from the ברכה that יעקב gives to נפתלי in פרשת ויחי where he says "נפתלי אילה שלחה הנתן אמרי שפר" which is translated by the תרגום יונתן בן עוזיאל - "Naphtali is a messenger compared to a deer(a hart) who runs on the tops of mountains...." (see בראשית מט: כא and the תרגום יונתן there.)
According to the ילקוט שמעוני על פרשת שמות (see http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A0%D7%A4%D7%AA%D7%9C%D7%99) , he was born on ה תשרי, and lived for 133. He was born in חרן (see בראשית כח: י) and he died in מצרים. ( see שמות א:ו)
Thoughts:
I liked this project. I think the wiki, was a good way for all to collect information and then to collaborate in one place. The wiki, is a great tool to have separate work spaces ( as each tribe has its own page,) but be collaborative and in one place at the same time. A Google document is also good for collaboration, but all of the information has to be on the same page, which I think for a project such as this, is less effective. I think the teacher chose an excellent tool for this project.
There were problems that were encountered however. First, we have learned that like Google docs, the wiki's are as of now not very i-pad user friendly. I composed my page (this page and the home page) on my laptop computer. Until the iPad can accommodate the wiki better, I would probably not assign another project to be worked on in class on the i-pad using the wiki.
I also think that the students did not do as good of a job as they could have done. This could be because they are lazy, or this type of presentation method is new to them, so it was unclear to them that they should not just copy and paste the guiding rubric onto their specific page, fill out the "answers" and not edit it. I hope in the future, the students can get used to such a presentation format, for I see wiki spaces being used more and more in educational contexts.